When the weekend arrived, true to the plan to bring Ji Qianxi home for a few days, Liu Shiran came to Granny's house bright and early to pick her up. After all, little Qianxi was too young, and it was inconvenient for her to be constantly tagging along with Granny.
Sunlight streamed through the curtains into the room. Ji Qianxi rubbed her eyes, not seeing Granny by her side, and shivered as a draft of cold air leaked through the gaps in the brick walls.
She quickly put on her thick, layered fabric clothes, eager to get up and help Granny with some chores and preparations before she set up her stall.
As soon as she reached the main room, she saw Auntie Shiran and Granny whispering to each other.
Seeing Ji Qianxi walk out of the room, both of them smiled gently at her.
Noticing the messy hair on Qianxi's forehead, Liu Shiran pulled her close, carefully tidying it up and weaving it into two cute little braids that bobbed beside her ears, making her look even more playful and adorable.
As for why our young master Su Yizhou didn't come along, it was naturally because he was still fast asleep. No matter how Liu Shiran called him that morning, she couldn't wake him up.
To this, the proud Su Yizhou could only claim that he was restricted by a child's body and definitely didn't want to sleep in.
After chatting a little longer, Granny prepared to go out. She pushed her tricycle out the front door, pondering which street corner would be busiest today, and set off to sell her candies. Although Ji Qianxi desperately wanted to follow Granny, she knew she would only be a burden, so she stood silently by the door.
Knowing she might not see Granny again until next week, and having never been separated from her for so long, Qianxi understood that Granny and Auntie Shiran had her best interests at heart. Still, she fought back the tears welling up in her eyes, let Auntie Shiran hold her hand, and stood at the doorway watching Granny pedal away toward the street corner, only snapping back to reality when the sound of the rusty bicycle chain finally faded away.
Feeling the unfamiliar weight behind her, Granny sighed quietly, and her pedaling felt lighter. Not only was the cart lighter, but her heart also felt hollow. She didn't want to part with her granddaughter either, but dragging such a young child along to set up street stalls was simply too hard on her. Wasn't it a good thing for someone else to help take care of Ji Qianxi?
Liu Shiran noticed the sadness washing over Ji Qianxi. On such a cold day, to stay warm, Qianxi had to wear layer upon layer of thick fabric clothes—which were simply no match for the convenience of a proper down jacket.
So, Liu Shiran decided to take Qianxi into town to buy some warm clothes.
"Qianxi, would you like Auntie to take you shopping?"
Ji Qianxi froze and lowered her head slightly. She was actually rather shy; until today, the only person she had interacted with was Su Yizhou, and she rarely spoke to Liu Shiran.
"Auntie, I... I don't need to buy anything. I'll just stay at home, I'll be very quiet," she said softly. Liu Shiran's heart melted at the sight. She smiled gently, squatted down, and said softly:
"Qianxi, Auntie wants to buy you clothes because you deserve them. You are such a good girl every day, and Auntie hopes you can dress a little prettier and be a little happier."
Ji Qianxi kept her head down, still hesitant. She tugged at the hem of her top, pouting, her voice soft and timid: "But my clothes are already enough. Granny knitted a lot of them for me, Auntie doesn't need to spend money."
"Auntie will just take you to look. If nothing fits, we won't buy it, okay, Qianxi?"
Before Qianxi could reply, Liu Shiran scooped her up, placed her on the back seat of the scooter, and rode toward the market.
If Granny saw her buying clothes for Qianxi, she certainly wouldn't feel comfortable about it. Liu Shiran knew she had to keep coming over to Granny's house for free meals just to justify helping Qianxi out with anything.
That was simply Granny's mindset—she hated accepting unearned kindness for fear of never being able to repay it. *Maybe I should just adopt Qianxi as my goddaughter one day,* Liu Shiran thought, *then I'd have every right to spoil this little girl.* That idea kept echoing in her mind.
Lost in thought, she led Ji Qianxi into a clothing store.
Faced with all kinds of children's clothing, what little girl didn't love looking pretty? Ji Qianxi was no exception, but she forced herself to keep her head down, as if afraid Liu Shiran would notice which outfit she liked and buy it for her.
"Come on, Qianxi, try this one on," Liu Shiran said, not waiting for a reply as she pulled down a pink down jacket and slipped it over the little girl's shoulders.
Too gentle to resist such a gesture, especially an act of kindness, Ji Qianxi stood there blankly, unsure of how to react. Should she refuse or not?
As far back as her memory went, ever since her parents passed away, aside from Granny, no one had ever bought her a single piece of clothing.
Liu Shiran looked at the now even more adorable Ji Qianxi. Pink truly was the best match for those flushed, rosy cheeks.
Seeing Auntie Shiran beaming with satisfaction and reaching out to lead her to the cash register,
panic set in. In a rare display of stubbornness from her usually submissive voice, Qianxi protested:
"Auntie, we can't buy this. Granny said you've already been so good to me, you shouldn't spend any more money on me."
Qianxi's little face turned bright red as she grabbed Liu Shiran's large hand with both of hers, planting her feet firmly in place to keep Liu Shiran from walking toward the counter.
Having never seen such stubbornness in the soft-spoken little girl, Liu Shiran felt a pang of heartache. Unable to resist the urge to pinch those chubby cheeks, she leaned down, pressed a kiss to Qianxi's face, tapped her cute little nose, and said gently:
"Auntie is buying you clothes because I like you, Qianxi. When you grow up, just remember to come visit Auntie often! Me liking you and me buying you clothes don't conflict at all, understand? If you don't buy this jacket, Auntie will be sad. Surely you don't want Auntie to be sad, do you?"
Trapped by the logic, Ji Qianxi stood frozen in place, trying to figure out why Auntie would be unhappy if she didn't buy the clothes. Did Auntie really want to buy her things that badly? The other aunties she had met before were never like this.
Before she could process it, she was scooped up into someone's arms, felt a cotton hat being pulled over her head by Liu Shiran, and then—just like that—they had paid and walked out of the shop.
On the ride back, Ji Qianxi sat on the back of the electric scooter.
The wind didn't seem as cold as it had been on the way there. Strange, hadn't Auntie actually taken off some of her thick fabric layers?
She thought about it for a moment without quite understanding, but from that day on, it seemed she never felt that biting chill again. Looking at the auntie sitting in front of her, blocking the wind, she recalled Granny's words:
"When you grow up, you must always remember their kindness!"
Feeling the warmth radiating from within her chest, Ji Qianxi leaned even closer against Auntie's back.